JP6722140B2 - Ground guard mounting structure - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a mounting structure for a grounding guard provided on a front portion of a vehicle body.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses that a lower tank of a radiator is protected by a front undercover joined to a lower surface of a cross member at a front portion of a vehicle body.

JP, 2001-278126, A

By the way, in recent years, automatic driving technology has been widely applied to automobiles, and it is necessary to dispose a front obstacle detection sensor for detecting an obstacle in front of the vehicle in front of the lower cross member of the front bulkhead. It is rising.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a grounding guard mounting structure capable of improving the degree of freedom in layout of the front obstacle detection sensor and its peripheral components.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a grounding guard mounting structure mounted on a lower cross member of a front bulkhead, wherein the grounding guard has a U-shaped cross section or a U-shaped cross section. And a lower wall whose dimension in the vehicle front-rear direction is longer than the upper wall, wherein the lower cross member has a hat cross-sectional shape that opens upward, and at least the front side. A flange portion and a bottom surface portion, the upper wall is fixed to the front side flange portion of the lower cross member, and the lower wall is fixed to the bottom surface portion. An obstacle detection sensor is attached.

According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a ground guard mounting structure capable of improving the degree of freedom in layout of the front obstacle detection sensor and its peripheral components.

It is a schematic structure perspective view showing the vehicle body front part of the vehicle to which the grounding guard attachment structure concerning the embodiment of the present invention was applied. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged perspective view showing a state in which a front obstacle detection sensor is attached via the ground guard shown in FIG. 1. (A) is a perspective view of the grounding guard as seen obliquely from above, (b) is a perspective view of the grounding guard as seen from obliquely rearward, and (c) is a state in which the grounding guard is attached to the lower cross member. It is the perspective view seen from the side. It is the bottom view which looked at the state where the grounding guard was attached to the lower cross member from the lower part. FIG. 3 is a schematic end view showing a bumper face and an under cover arranged below a front portion of a vehicle body. It is an explanatory view showing a state where a bumper face or an undercover arranged below a front portion of the vehicle body is in contact with a road surface and a pushing-up load is input. FIG. 7 is a schematic end view showing a state in which a lid member that covers the recess is attached in a state without a front obstacle detection sensor.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate.
In each drawing, “front and rear” indicates the vehicle front and rear direction, “left and right” indicates the vehicle width direction (left and right direction), and “up and down” indicates the vertical up and down direction.

A vehicle to which the grounding guard mounting structure according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied has a vehicle body including a monocoque body. The vehicle body is arranged symmetrically with respect to a center line (not shown) extending along the vehicle front-rear direction through the center of the vehicle in the vehicle width direction.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle body front portion 10 includes a pair of left and right front side frames 12, 12, a pair of left and right upper members and 14, 14, a pair of left and right connecting members 16, 16, and a front bulkhead 18. It is equipped with. A pair of ground guards 20, 20 are attached to the lower end of the front bulkhead 18 at approximately the center thereof. The pair of ground guards 20, 20 have the same configuration.

As shown in FIG. 1, the pair of left and right front side frames 12, 12 are arranged on both left and right sides in the vehicle width direction, and extend in the vehicle front-rear direction. The vehicle rear end of each front side frame 12 is connected to a cross member (not shown).

The pair of left and right upper members 14, 14 are arranged outside the pair of left and right front side frames 12, 12 in the vehicle width direction, and extend along the vehicle front-rear direction. The vehicle rear end of each upper member 14 is connected to a pair of left and right front pillars (not shown).

Each upper member 14 is composed of an upper member upper portion 14a and an upper member lower portion (tip portion on the vehicle front side) 14b. The upper member upper portion 14a extends downward from a front pillar (not shown) toward the front of the vehicle. The lower member 14b of the upper member extends downward from the upper member 14a of the upper member along the vertical direction with a downward slope.

As shown in FIG. 1, the front bulkhead 18 is arranged at the front end of the vehicle. The front bulkhead 18 includes a pair of left and right vertical members 24, 24, an upper cross member 26, and a lower cross member 28. The pair of left and right vertical members 24, 24 are arranged substantially parallel to each other near the front end portions of the pair of left and right front side frames 12, 12 along the vertical direction.

The upper cross member 26 is bridged along the vehicle width direction between the upper ends of the pair of left and right vertical members 24, 24. At both ends of the upper cross member 26 along the vehicle width direction, connecting members 27, 27 that connect both ends of each upper cross member 26 in the vehicle width direction to each upper member 14 (upper member upper portion 14a) are connected.

The lower cross member 28 has a hat cross-sectional shape that opens upward. As shown in FIG. 2, the lower cross member 28 includes a front side flange portion 29a, a front side wall 29b, a bottom surface portion 29c, a rear side wall 29d, and a rear side flange portion 29e.

The front flange portion 29a projects toward the front of the vehicle and extends along the vehicle width direction. The front side wall 29b is formed continuously with the front flange portion 29a and bent downward. The bottom surface portion 29c connects the lower end of the front side wall 29b and the lower end of the rear side wall 29d that face each other. The rear side wall 29d is disposed so as to face the front side wall 29b, and is formed so as to rise upward from the vehicle rear end portion of the bottom surface portion 29c. The rear flange portion 29e is formed so as to be bent rearward of the vehicle from an upper edge portion of the rear side wall 29d.

The lower cross member 28 is bridged along the vehicle width direction between the lower end portions of the pair of left and right vertical members 24, 24. The lower cross member 28 is located substantially below the upper cross member 26 in the vertical vertical direction.

As will be described later, the upper wall 20a of the ground guard 20 is fixed to the front flange portion 29a of the lower cross member 28, and the lower wall of the ground guard 20 is fixed to the bottom surface 29c of the lower cross member 28. 20c is fixed (see FIG. 3(c)).

As shown in FIG. 1, each connecting member 16 has a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from the front, and extends along the vehicle width direction between the lower end of the upper member 14 (upper member lower portion 14b) and each front side frame 12. It is arranged. Each connecting member 16 connects the pair of left and right upper members 14, 14 and the pair of left and right front side frames 12, 12 to each other along the vehicle width direction.

As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the grounding guard 20 has a U-shaped cross section and is composed of an upper wall 20a, a front wall 20b, and a lower wall 20c. In the present embodiment, the upper wall 20a, the front wall 20b, and the lower wall 20c are integrally configured by, for example, bending, but the present invention is not limited to this and is manufactured separately. Alternatively, they may be integrally connected. In addition, in the present embodiment, the grounding guard 20 is configured to have a U-shaped cross-section, but the present invention is not limited to this. You may make it exhibit a character shape.

The front wall 20b has a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from the front, and has a substantially hat-shaped cross section along the vehicle width direction in the mounted state. The front wall 20b is provided so as to face the front of the vehicle (see FIG. 1), and connects the vehicle front ends of the upper wall 20a and the lower wall 20c. An attachment hole portion 30 that penetrates the front and back surfaces of the front wall 20b is formed in a substantially central portion of the front wall 20b.

A mounting nut 32 (see FIG. 3B) is connected (joined) to the vehicle rear surface (rear surface) of the front wall 20b adjacent to the mounting hole 30. The screw portion of the bolt 33 (see FIG. 2) that has been inserted through the mounting hole portion 30 of the front wall 20b is fastened to the mounting nut 32, so that the front obstacle detection sensor 34 described later with respect to the grounding guard 20 is provided. It is attached.

The upper wall 20a has a substantially triangular shape in a plan view. The cross section of the upper wall 20a in the vehicle width direction in the attached state is formed in a substantially hat shape in which the central portion bulges upward as compared with the both side corner portions.

The lower wall 20c has a vertically long rectangular shape toward the rear of the vehicle in a plan view. The dimension of the lower wall 20c in the vehicle front-rear direction is longer than the dimension of the upper wall 20a in the vehicle front-rear direction. The upper wall 20a and the lower wall 20c are opposed to each other in the vertical direction and extend substantially in parallel. The upper wall 20a and the lower wall 20c extend rearward of the vehicle from the front wall 20b while being separated from each other by a predetermined distance in the vertical direction.

A straight line having a step between the inside and the outside of the front wall 20b on both sides along the vehicle width direction and on both sides of the lower wall 20c in the vehicle width direction from the vehicle front end to the intermediate portion. The stepped portion 36 is continuously formed. Step flanges 38 are continuously formed by the step portions 36 on both sides of the front wall 20b along the vehicle width direction and on both front sides of the lower wall 20c. Although the step flange portion 38 is formed so as to be continuous with at least the front wall 20b and the lower wall 20c, a step 36 (not shown) is also formed on the upper wall 20a to form the upper wall 20a, the front wall 20b, and The step flange portion 38 may be formed to be continuous with the lower wall 20c.

On the vehicle front side of the lower wall 20c, a circular access hole 40 that penetrates the lower wall 20c in the vertical direction is formed. The access hole 40 allows the gun tip of a welding gun (not shown) to be inserted (accessible) from the lower wall 20c side in order to form the vehicle body joint portion 42 on the upper wall 20a side. Is.

The ground guard 20 includes a vehicle body joint portion 42. The vehicle body joining portion fixes the front obstacle detection sensor 34 to the center portion of the vehicle body front portion 10 in the vehicle width direction. As shown in FIG. 4, the vehicle body joint portion 42 includes an upper wall side vehicle body joint portion 42a and a lower wall side vehicle body joint portion 42b. The upper wall side vehicle body joint portion 42a fixes (joins) the vehicle rear side upper surface of the upper wall 20a to the front side flange portion 29a of the lower cross member 28. The lower wall side vehicle body joint 42b fixes (joins) the vehicle rear side upper surface of the lower wall 20c to the bottom surface 29c of the lower cross member 28.

As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, a relief portion 44 for discharging the electrodeposition coating liquid is formed on the joint surface between the lower cross member 28 and the grounding guard 20. The escape portion 44 is composed of an upper wall side escape portion 44a formed on the upper wall 20a of the grounding guard 20 and a lower wall side escape portion 44b formed on the lower wall 20c.

The upper wall side relief portion 44a is formed by a step portion formed between the central portion of the upper wall 20a and the corner portions on both sides of the central portion. The lower wall side escape portion 44b is formed by a linear long groove that is recessed downward from the upper surface of the lower wall 20c. The long groove linearly extends from an intermediate portion of the lower wall 20c in front of the vehicle to a rear end of the vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 2, the front obstacle detection sensor 34 has a casing 50 formed of a rectangular casing. The casing 50 is located above the lower cross member 28 in the vertical direction, and is arranged at the center of the lower cross member 28 in the vehicle width direction. The upper portion of the front obstacle detection sensor 34 is fixed to the pair of left and right vertical members 24, 24 via a first stay 46 extending in the vehicle width direction. The lower portion of the front obstacle detection sensor 34 is fixed to the ground guard 20 via a second stay 48 extending in the vehicle front-rear direction. In this case, the ground guard 20 also has a function as a bracket for attaching the front obstacle detection sensor 34 to the lower cross member 28.

As shown in FIG. 5, a guide member 52 is arranged in front of the front bulkhead 18 in the vehicle. The guide member 52 is formed with a recess 56 into which the guide surface 54 is recessed and the second stay 48 extending in the vehicle front-rear direction is fitted.

As shown in FIG. 5, a bumper face 62 on the front side of the vehicle and an under cover 64 on the rear side of the vehicle are arranged below the front portion 10 of the vehicle body. Further, a cooling pipe 66 is arranged between the ground guard 20 and the front obstacle detection sensor 34 along the vertical direction. The cooling pipe 66 functions as a peripheral component of the front obstacle detection sensor.

As shown in FIG. 1, a pair of left and right damper housings 58 for accommodating dampers (not shown) are provided above the vehicle rear end of each front side frame 12. On the upper part of each damper housing 58, a pair of left and right damper bases 60, 60 for supporting a damper (not shown) are provided.

The damper housing 58 is arranged between each upper member 14 and each front side frame 12 along the vehicle width direction. The damper housing 58 is fixed to the inner side wall of the upper member 14 and the outer side wall of the front side frame 12 via a plurality of side flange portions (not shown).

The vehicle body front portion 10 to which the grounding guard mounting structure according to the present embodiment is applied is basically configured as described above, and the operation and effect thereof will be described next.

In the present embodiment, the ground guard 20 is formed in a U-shaped cross section or a U-shaped cross section, whereby the rigidity and strength of the ground guard 20 can be improved. As a result, in this embodiment, even if the front obstacle detection sensor 34 vertically vibrates, the vertical vibration is suppressed from being transmitted to the lower cross member 28 because the ground guard 20 that functions as a bracket has high rigidity and strength. can do. As a result, in the present embodiment, the quietness of the vehicle interior can be improved.

Further, for example, the bumper face 62 or the under cover 64 arranged below the vehicle body front part 10 comes into contact with the road surface 68 to input a pushing load, and the bumper face 62 and/or the under cover 64 is deformed upward. There are cases. In this case, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the ground guard 20 having high rigidity and strength restricts the upward displacement of the undercover 64 and the bumper face 62. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the deformed bumper face 62 and/or the under cover 64 from interfering with the components (for example, the cooling pipe 66, the front obstacle detection sensor 34, etc.) arranged above the ground guard 20. You can As a result, in the present embodiment, it is possible to improve the degree of freedom in the layout of the front obstacle detection sensor 34 and its peripheral components.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the grounding guard 20 includes the step flange portion 38 in which the step portion 36 that is continuous from at least the front wall 20b to the lower wall 20c is formed. As a result, in the present embodiment, the step flange portion 38 can further improve the rigidity and strength.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the electrodeposition coating liquid is applied to the joint surface between the upper wall 20a of the ground guard 20 and the front flange portion 29a and the joint surface between the lower wall 20c and the bottom portion 29c of the ground guard 20, respectively. An upper wall side relief portion 44a for discharging and a lower wall side relief portion 44b are formed. The upper wall side escape portion 44a and the lower wall side escape portion 44b allow the electrodeposition coating liquid to be smoothly discharged from the joint surface to the outside, so that the generation of rust can be suppressed and a rust preventive effect can be obtained.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the ground guard 20 includes the vehicle body joint portion 42 so that the front obstacle detection sensor 34 is located at the center of the vehicle width direction. The vehicle body joint portion 42 is composed of an upper wall side vehicle body joint portion 42a and a lower wall side vehicle body joint portion 42b (see FIG. 4). In the present embodiment, the vehicle body joint portion 42 can suppress the vertical vibration of the front obstacle detection sensor 34 and prevent the detection accuracy from decreasing.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the access hole 40 of the welding gun for forming the vehicle body joint portion 42 with respect to the upper wall 20a is formed in the lower wall 20c of the grounding guard 20. As a result, in the present embodiment, the welding work can be easily performed from the lower side with the ground guard 20 set on the lower cross member 28, and the ground guard 20 can be easily attached to the lower cross member 28. It can be fixed (joined).

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the front obstacle detection sensor 34 is arranged at the center in the vehicle width direction, and the upper portion of the front obstacle detection sensor 34 is fixed to the pair of left and right vertical members 24, 24 via the first stay 46. In addition, the lower portion of the front obstacle detection sensor 34 is fixed to the ground guard 20 via the second stay 48. Accordingly, in the present embodiment, by adjusting the attachment position (for example, the vertical position) of the front obstacle detection sensor 34 attached to the front bulkhead 18, the position is set so as not to interfere with the inflow of air into the radiator RA. The front obstacle detection sensor 34 can be arranged. Further, this can suppress the vertical vibration of the front obstacle detection sensor 34 and suppress the decrease in the detection accuracy.

Further, in the present embodiment, the guide member 52 is arranged at the vehicle front position of the front bulkhead 18, and the second stay 48 that supports the front obstacle detection sensor 34 by recessing the guide surface 54 of the guide member 52 downward. The recessed part 56 to be fitted is formed (see FIG. 5). As a result, in the present embodiment, the front obstacle detection sensor 34 can be arranged in front of the radiator RA without obstructing the flow of the air flow for cooling the radiator RA. As a result, in the present embodiment, it is possible to further improve the degree of freedom in layout of the front obstacle detection sensor 34 and its peripheral components.

For example, when the front obstacle detection sensor without the front obstacle detection sensor 34 is not used, as shown in FIG. 7, the lid member 70 that covers the concave portion 56 and has the guide surface 54 is formed. Can be placed. The lid member 70 includes a front wall 70b extending from the middle bent portion 70a to the front of the vehicle, a rear wall 70c extending from the bent portion 70a to the rear of the vehicle, and a guide member 52 below the rear end of the rear wall 70c. It is composed of a rear side wall 70d that extends downward. As a result, in the present embodiment, the cover member 70 covers the concave portion 56 to make it difficult to visually recognize, and the appearance of the vehicle body front portion 10 is improved, and the flow of the airflow along the guide surface 54 is improved more smoothly. be able to.

10 Front part of vehicle body 18 Front bulkhead 20 Ground guard 20a Upper wall 20b Front wall 20c Lower wall 24 Vertical member 28 Lower cross member 29a Front side flange 29c Bottom part 34 Front obstacle detection sensor 36 Step part 38 Step flange part 40 Access hole 42 Body joint part 44 Escape part 46 First stay 48 Second stay 52 Guide member 54 Guide surface 56 Recessed portion 68 Lid member

Claims (8)

It is a grounding guard mounting structure that is attached to the lower cross member of the front bulkhead,
The grounding guard has a U-shaped cross section or a U-shaped cross section, and has an upper wall, a front wall, and a lower wall whose dimension in the vehicle front-rear direction is longer than the upper wall,
The lower cross member has a hat cross-sectional shape that opens upward, and has at least a front flange portion and a bottom surface portion,
The upper wall is fixed to the front side flange portion of the lower cross member, and the lower wall is fixed to the bottom surface portion,
A grounding guard mounting structure, wherein a front obstacle detection sensor is mounted on the front wall. The ground guard mounting structure according to claim 1,
The ground guard mounting structure, wherein the ground guard includes a stepped flange portion having a step portion continuous from at least the front wall to the lower wall. The ground guard mounting structure according to claim 1 or 2,
The grounding guard mounting structure, wherein the upper wall and the lower wall are formed with an escape portion for discharging the electrodeposition coating liquid. The ground guard mounting structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The ground guard mounting structure, wherein the ground guard includes a vehicle body joint portion for fixing the front obstacle detection sensor to a center portion in a vehicle width direction thereof. The ground guard mounting structure according to claim 4,
The grounding guard mounting structure, wherein an access hole of a welding gun for forming the vehicle body joint portion on the upper wall side is formed in the lower wall. The ground guard mounting structure according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The front bulkhead has a pair of left and right vertical members,
The front obstacle detection sensor is arranged in the central portion in the vehicle width direction,
An upper portion of the front obstacle detection sensor is fixed to the pair of left and right vertical members via a first stay extending in the vehicle width direction, and a lower portion thereof is a second stay extending in the vehicle front-rear direction. It is fixed to the grounding guard via a grounding guard mounting structure. The ground guard mounting structure according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A guide member is arranged in front of the front bulkhead vehicle,
A ground guard mounting structure, wherein a recess is formed in the guide surface of the guide member, and a recess into which the second stay extending in the vehicle front-rear direction is fitted is formed. The ground guard mounting structure according to claim 7,
A ground guard mounting structure, wherein a lid member that covers the recess and forms the guide surface is disposed.

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